And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Acts 1:26 Parallel Commentaries

The Unknown To-Morrow
A New Year's Sermon 'It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.'--ACTS i. 7. The New Testament gives little encouragement to a sentimental view of life. Its writers had too much to do, and too much besides to think about, for undue occupation with pensive remembrances or imaginative forecastings. They bid us remember as a stimulus to thanksgiving and a ground of hope. They bid us look forward, but not along the low levels of earth and its changes. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Theme of Acts
'The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach. 2. Until the day in which He was taken up.'--ACTS i. 1, 2. 'And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, 31. Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.' --ACTS xxviii. 30, 31. So begins and so ends this Book. I connect the commencement and the close, because I think …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

The Mystery of Iniquity
"The mystery of iniquity doth already work." 2 Thess. 2:7. 1. Without inquiring how far these words refer to any particular event in the Christian Church, I would at present take occasion from them to consider that important question, -- In what manner the mystery of iniquity hath wrought among us till it hath well-nigh covered the whole earth. 2. It is certain that "God made man upright;" perfectly holy and perfectly happy: But by rebelling against God, he destroyed himself, lost the favour and …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions

Witnessing Better than Knowing the Future
"When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth."--Acts 1:6-8. THESE ARE AMONG THE LAST WORDS of …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 39: 1893

Tenth Day for God's Spirit on Our Missionaries
WHAT TO PRAY.--For God's Spirit on our Missionaries "What the world needs to-day is, not only more missionaries, but the outpouring of God's Spirit on everyone whom He has sent out to work for Him in the foreign field." "Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be My witnesses unto the uttermost parts of the earth."--ACTS i. 8. God always gives His servants power equal to the work He asks of them. Think of the greatness and difficulty of this work,--casting out …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

The Propagation of Christianity.
IN this argument, the first consideration is the fact -- in what degree, within what time, and to what extent, Christianity actually was propagated. The accounts of the matter which can be collected from our books are as follow: A few days after Christ's disappearance out of the world, we find an assembly of disciples at Jerusalem, to the number of "about one hundred and twenty;" (Acts i. 15.) which hundred and twenty were probably a little association of believers, met together not merely as believers …
William Paley—Evidences of Christianity

The Second Coming of Christ.
When Jesus was taken up into heaven and a cloud had received him out of sight, two heavenly visitants appeared unto the men of Galilee and said, "This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." Acts 1:11. Jesus went up in a cloud and he is to come again in like manner as he went up. "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory." Mark 13:26. No one knows the exact time of his coming. …
Charles Ebert Orr—The Gospel Day

Other New Testament Names for "Being Filled with the Spirit. "
That we may see how full the New Testament is of this blessing, and that we may the better understand what it is and how it is obtained, let us just glance at some other terms used by the Holy Ghost when speaking of it. 1. "Baptized with the Holy Ghost." "Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence" (Acts i. 5). See also Acts xi. 16, Matt. iii. 11, Mark i. 8, Luke iii. 16, John i. 33. Now, though "baptized" and "filled" are sometimes convertible terms, it is instructive to note …
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life

Prayer-Equipment for Preachers
"Go back! Back to that upper room; back to your knees; back to searching of heart and habit, thought and life; back to pleading, praying, waiting, till the Spirit of the Lord floods the soul with light, and you are endued with power from on high. Then go forth in the power of Pentecost, and the Christ-life shall be lived, and the works of Christ shall be done. You shall open blind eyes, cleanse foul hearts, break men's fetters, and save men's souls. In the power of the indwelling Spirit, miracles …
Edward M. Bounds—The Weapon of Prayer